TRANSKRIPT 🔗
WEBVTT
1
00:00:04.040 --> 00:00:06.259
This is the catch-up on three things by the Indian
2
00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:13.609
Express and I'm Ichha Sharma. Today is the 6th of
3
00:00:13.689 --> 00:00:18.050
November and here are this week's headlines. Starting with major news,
4
00:00:18.510 --> 00:00:23.489
Kerala's Congress government on Tuesday directed its Vigilance and Anti-Corruption
5
00:00:23.530 --> 00:00:27.910
Bureau to conduct a preliminary investigation into bribery claims against
6
00:00:27.989 --> 00:00:32.049
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar after a fresh complaint emerged
7
00:00:32.090 --> 00:00:34.929
in the matter. This comes after the state in October
8
00:00:35.170 --> 00:00:39.490
ordered the reopening of a 2006 probe against Kumar, a
9
00:00:39.490 --> 00:00:42.869
1988 batch IS officer of the Keralam cadre, who at
10
00:00:42.909 --> 00:00:51.039
the time served as Secretary of the State's Public Works Department. Meanwhile,
11
00:00:51.100 --> 00:00:54.439
three months after a work allocation order led two election
12
00:00:54.479 --> 00:00:58.280
commissioners to express concern and raise the matter with Cabinet
13
00:00:58.299 --> 00:01:02.890
Secretary T.V. Somanathan, The Election Commission of India on Wednesday
14
00:01:02.990 --> 00:01:06.590
issued a fresh order which, among other changes, brought back
15
00:01:06.629 --> 00:01:10.510
the layer of oversight over its Director General Seema Khanna
16
00:01:10.650 --> 00:01:14.469
that had been removed on July 28. Under the new order,
17
00:01:14.939 --> 00:01:19.299
Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Pawan Kumar Sharma has been assigned
18
00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:22.739
charge of IT and ICT with Khanna required to route
19
00:01:22.799 --> 00:01:25.920
files through him. The order said that she would put
20
00:01:25.980 --> 00:01:34.140
up files of above-mentioned functional divisions through Sharma. In other
21
00:01:34.170 --> 00:01:36.969
major news, the Centre on Thursday told the Supreme Court
22
00:01:37.329 --> 00:01:39.670
that it is planning to put in place a committee
23
00:01:39.709 --> 00:01:43.950
to reconsider the University Grants Commission promotion of equity in
24
00:01:44.049 --> 00:01:48.390
higher education institutions regulations of 2026, which were stayed by
25
00:01:48.409 --> 00:01:52.180
the court earlier this year after petitions questioned their neutrality.
26
00:01:52.780 --> 00:01:56.579
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a three-judge bench preceded by
27
00:01:56.680 --> 00:02:00.379
Chief Justice of India Surikant that the government is contemplating
28
00:02:00.420 --> 00:02:04.140
appointing a committee. The Solicitor General said this after the
29
00:02:04.189 --> 00:02:08.439
bench also comprising Justices Joy Malabakshi and V. Mohana told
30
00:02:08.460 --> 00:02:11.419
the government to consider taking a re-look at the provisions.
31
00:02:11.900 --> 00:02:15.740
The CGI said, quote, Why don't you revisit these regulations
32
00:02:15.780 --> 00:02:18.319
so that the next generation is taken care of? They
33
00:02:18.340 --> 00:02:25.800
should protect the interests of every student. Unquote. Meanwhile, the
34
00:02:25.879 --> 00:02:29.389
Allahabad High Court yesterday refused to order an FIR against
35
00:02:29.469 --> 00:02:33.030
Congress leader and leader of the opposition Rahul Gandhi over
36
00:02:33.069 --> 00:02:36.169
his remarks on the security of Sikhs in India during
37
00:02:36.210 --> 00:02:40.569
a US visit in 2023, holding that being an elected representative,
38
00:02:40.849 --> 00:02:43.520
he had the right to voice the concerns of a community.
39
00:02:43.919 --> 00:02:47.280
The order passed by Justice Vikram D. Chauhan said, In
40
00:02:47.319 --> 00:02:51.379
the present case, the alleged offending speech of respondent 2
41
00:02:51.379 --> 00:02:54.370
is that there is an atmosphere of insecurity among Sikhs
42
00:02:54.409 --> 00:02:57.370
in India and asked whether a Sikh would be allowed
43
00:02:57.389 --> 00:03:00.150
to wear a turban or not and whether he would
44
00:03:00.189 --> 00:03:02.430
be able to go to a gurudwara, which is a
45
00:03:02.449 --> 00:03:09.169
place of worship. And in the end, in newsmaking global
46
00:03:09.189 --> 00:03:12.750
headlines this week, the Democratic Party's sweeping victory in the
47
00:03:12.789 --> 00:03:17.939
American midterm elections presents India with immediate and long-term imperatives
48
00:03:18.120 --> 00:03:21.259
in dealing with the United States, its most important and
49
00:03:21.319 --> 00:03:25.419
comprehensive partner for the foreseeable future. The immediate task is
50
00:03:25.460 --> 00:03:28.780
to set up engagement with the Trump administration, wrap up
51
00:03:28.819 --> 00:03:32.900
the long-pending bilateral trade agreement and advance cooperation in energy,
52
00:03:32.979 --> 00:03:36.250
defence and technology. The latest election is part of the
53
00:03:36.330 --> 00:03:40.189
enduring ebb and flow of American politics. The democratic triumph
54
00:03:40.250 --> 00:03:43.599
this week does not guarantee it victory in the 2028
55
00:03:43.599 --> 00:03:49.080
presidential election or continued congressional domination in the next congressional cycle.
56
00:03:49.460 --> 00:03:52.180
Instead of obsessing with mood swings in the American electorate,
57
00:03:52.599 --> 00:03:58.530
Delhi must rediscover America's extraordinary political diversity and rebuild relationships
58
00:03:58.689 --> 00:04:06.060
across its rapidly changing political landscape. And with that, this
59
00:04:06.120 --> 00:04:08.009
is all for this week. This was the catch up
60
00:04:08.050 --> 00:04:09.960
on three things by the Indian Express.